The Week Ahead: Hargreaves Lansdown, BP, GlaxoSmithKline results

Major FTSE 100 companies’ results this week like BP, Glaxo and Hargreaves Lansdown. In addition, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors will publish its monthly Residential Market Survey on Thursday.

Fund Strategy looks at some key events shaping the week and what to expect.

Monday 6 February

Randgold Resources (Q4 results)

Tuesday 7 February

St. Modwen Properties (Q4 results)

The Share Centre investment research analyst Graham Spooner says: “The group, which specialises in the regeneration of brownfield sites stated in December that its performance had been resilient in the face of market uncertainties and that it expected the second half to be broadly in line with that reported for the first half.

“So investors will be concentrating more on the group’s outlook for property and the effects so far of Brexit. The last reported net asset value was 421 pence.”

BP (Q4 results)

Spooner says: “While the shares have recovered alongside the oil price, BP’s most recent quarterly trading updates were a little disappointing. Investors will be hoping that the fourth quarter replacement cost profit will improve on the previous quarters.

“However, overall the group should reverse the previous year’s losses as big write-downs which should not feature again. Investors expect dividends to be maintained while going forward the view from management could become a bit more positive with the possibility of big oil companies once again thinking about expanding capital expenditure.”

Wednesday 8 February

GlaxoSmithKline (Q4 results)

Spooner says: “The trend in recent years has been one of falling revenues due to generic competition but this year we are likely to see a jump in sales as a direct result of sterling’s weakness.

“The group has been heavily investing in R&D and this has created an attractive pipeline of new drugs which have sold very well helping to mitigate declines from out of patent drugs. Investors will be looking out for progress on its cost cutting programmes, progress on R&D projects along with any worries management have over the new US administration’s rhetoric on controlling drug prices.”

Spooner says: “The monthly survey from RICS provides a good bellwether of the UK housing market, and indeed of the UK economy. Last month, the headline index fell back to 24, from 29 the month before. An index tracking new buyer enquiries, a good indicator of demand, fell from the month before, but still pointed to growth, albeit slow growth.

“An index tracking new sales instructions, a good indicator of supply, improved on the month before, but with a reading of zero, pointed to no growth. The index also indicated that stock levels were near an historic low. The survey helped support the narrative of low demand but even lower supply, in the UK housing market.”